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PAYG phone unlocking charges

Nick9
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Hi,

 

I tried to unlock my PAYG phone - the O2 Help page states 'If you’re on Pay As You Go, your O2 phone or tablet can be unlocked at any time, for free.', but both my My O2 account and customer services say there is a £15 charge, to which I cannot find any reference.

 

Can anyone explain?

 

Thanks,

 

PAYG.PNG

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adamtemp64
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Confirmed in this ofcom document https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/advice/mobile-phone-locki... always been £15

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Cleoriff
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@adamtemp64 wrote:

Confirmed in this ofcom document https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/advice/mobile-phone-locki... always been £15


Website error then in the link where it says it's free Evil

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jonsie
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@Cleoriff wrote:

@adamtemp64 wrote:

Confirmed in this ofcom document https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/advice/mobile-phone-locki... always been £15


Website error then in the link where it says it's free Evil


My thoughts too, so it's over to admin.pray

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Martin-O2
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Thanks for the mention guys! As far as I'm aware there have been no changes and a fee should still be charged. I'll raise this with the team to confirm and find out whats going on with that web page. 

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Martin-O2
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Hey @Nick9@jonsie@Cleoriff@adamtemp64@MI5 I have some great news about this one!

 

With immediate effect O2 have removed the following business rules from the usual unlatching process:

 

Consumer Pay Monthly customers:

  • Customers on selected devices will no longer need to be on a Consumer Refresh tariff in order to unlock their device
  • Customers on selected devices will no longer need to have paid off their device plan in order to unlock their device

 

Consumer Pay As You Go customers:

  • The £15 unlocking fee will be removed resulting in all future unlocking requests being free of charge
  • Customers will no longer need to have been with us for 12 months to unlock their device; they will be able to unlock their device at any point

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Access for You: Registration - Find out how to register for our Access for You service.
Just joined the community or thinking of registering? Check out this handy starter guide!
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Cleoriff
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 Hallelujah for that @Martin-O2

This means the unlock guide needs changing @MI5 Smiley Very Happy

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MI5
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Thanks @Martin-O2 if you can give me precise details of what "selected devices" are and also confirm if the PAYG change applies retrospectively to all PAYG devices or just those purchased after a certain date, I'll be happy to amend the guide to reflect current policy.
Although it does beg the question..... why bother locking them at all?
Surely it would be cheaper to remove network locks completely like ThreeUK have done and save the processing and admin costs of dealing with unlock requests?
I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

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Cleoriff
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@MI5 wrote:

Although it does beg the question..... why bother locking them at all?
Surely it would be cheaper to remove network locks completely like ThreeUK have done and save the processing and admin costs of dealing with unlock requests?

Great idea. Far too simple @MI5?

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MI5
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I like simple wink
I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

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jonsie
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